Machine for reforming splice bars



06L 1932- E. WOODINGS' 7 MACHINE FOR REFORMING SPLICE BARS Original Filed Aug, 28, 1928 3 sh t -sh t 1 Oct. E, WOOEHNGS 1,884,476

v MACHINE FOR REFORMING SPLICE BARS Original Filed Aug. 28, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 WlTNESS Oct. 25, 1932. E. woonmes MACHINE FOR REFORMING SPLICE BARS Original Filed Aug. 28, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 ww v UN wlml. R. WAQ/ fi WITNESS Patented Got. 25, 1932 UNITED STATES PAT T"oFFicEjT EMANUEL WOOIDINGS, or OAKMONT, PENNSYLVANIA, AssIe on 'T o woon Ncs-VEnoNA 'rooI. wonxs, OF VEEoNA, PENNSYL ANIA, A CQRPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA IIAcPIINE FOR EEPomviI G' sPLIoE B s Original application filed Au ust 2a, 1928, Serial No. 302,461, Div'ided and 16, 1930. Serial o. 482,284.

This invention relates to machines for reforming splice bars for railroad rails. More particularly it relates to a machine for reforming the so-called continuous splice bars by removing a portion of the original bar, and reforming the remainder to produce a bar different from the original, in that it is not of the continuous type. This application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 302,461,-filed August 28, 1928.

As is well known, the ends of railway rails are rigidly connected by means of what are ordinarily termed splice bars, or fish plates. Due to the passage of heavy trains over the rail joints there is a tendency for the rail-engaging portions of the splice bars to become worn at and near the rail ends. Also these bars deteriorate from rust, the bolt holes Wear, and after a time they no longer serve to make a tight joint. There has recently grown up the practice of reforming worn splice bars by putting them through a heating and forging treatment, to restore their worn surfaces to the original lines, or, in certain cases, to reshape the bars to make a preferred form of bar. For example see my prior Patent No. 1,547,854. When so treated the reformed bar is as good or better than the original, and costs much less, as no new material is used. The old bar becomes in effect a blank for forging therefrom a new bar.

Very early in the railway art there was developed a form of so-called continuous splice bar having abase plate adapted to extend underneath the rails and to furnish a support therefor. The term continuous as used herein implies a bar with such a base plate and a cooperating seat portion adapted to rest on the top of the rail base, the base plate and seat portion being connected by a transition portion, and forming between the two a tapered jaw adapted to engage-the rail base.

Continuous bars have long been known in the art, certain forms thereof being described in United States Patents Nos. 46,803 and 877,455. Such bars are still in extensive use on many railroads, and heretofore the reforming thereof has presented a difficult problem. To reform them to their original this application filed September shape has not proved-practicable, andto reform them to any other shape has required such a manipulation of the metal as to render the process undulydiflicultand expensive.

Attempts have been made to remove the base plate portion of such bars, and thatis the most feasible method of 'treatment, but this also has been found to be difficult; Various ways of removing thebaseplatje have been tried. For example insome cases the old bars have been put in planers which machined off the seat portion, while in others the base has been removed by sawing the bar longitudinally through the web. Such operations are so slow and expensive as to make uneconomic the reforming of'contin'uous bars. A

The present invention relates to'a-machine for removing this base-plate portion, and at the same time reforming theupper part of ihe bar to produce anon-continuous splice v v An object of the invention is to provide a machine for efficiently shearing off a longitudinal portion of acontinuoussplice bar, and preferably at the same operation repressing a portion of a similar bar, [previously 7 sheared,to formin effect anew bar.

An additional object is to'providei in a single'machine means for preliminarily bending'the metal of a continuous] splice bar to open up the jaw thereof, so that it' may be efficiently sheared longitudinally to remove the base portion, means for performing the shearing operation on another bar already opened up, and means for pressing another bar to final shape, all at a single'stroke of the machine.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent to those familiar with thearlt from a reading of the following specification.

Referring to the drawings, Fig.1 is'a front elevation of a machine for practicing this invention; Fig. 2 is anenlarged partial vertical section corresponding to the view of Fig. 1, showing the dies in open position; Fig. 3-is an enlarged partial vertical section corresponding'to that of Fig. 2, but showing the machine at the end of an operating stroke with the dies in closed position; and Fig.4

is a side elevation, on a reduced scale, of the shear knife.

A machine for accomplishing these objects is illustrated in the drawings. Referring to Fig. 1, the machine is illustrated as mounted on a concrete base 1. It comprises .aabase frame 2, carrying a lower stationary dieblock 3, and having upright side guide frames 4, 4,

in which is rec iproca-bl'y mounted a sliding cross-head or plunger -5, carrying an upper movable die block 6. The sliding. plunger... member is attached to a connecting rod 7',

driven by crank portion 8 of shaft'Q, journ'aled in the upper portion of the side frames 4, 4. The shaft 9 has keyed thereon a large gear Wheel 10, driven by pinion ll, keyed .on shaft 1 2, which carries on the other side of the frame pulleys 1,13 and 14, adaptedv to be j dri eny & pow r belt in the usual nianner.

A flywheel .115. is alsoniounted on the shaft 12. -The end-Of shaft 12-beyond thepulleys l3 and 14 is mounted in a suitable bearing on the upper end of post 16, which is supported on the cQnQrete basel. Tbe upper portions of; the Sid-BfflflillS 4 are rigidlyconnected by a transverse member 17 Suitable bearings, lubricating devices, etc., not specificially men-- tionedare provided for this machine, but as' they constitute no part of this invention they need not be described in detail.

The continuous type of splice bar B which this machine is particularly designed to reform is illustrated in end view and cross section, It is of normal length andheight,

base plate 20 normally grips the rail base. A

web portion 23 connects the parts'previously mentioned to a head24, which has an'inclined upper face 25, adapted to contact with and support the underside of the rail head. When such bars are in normal position the portion 25 is rigidly. clamped against the.

under face, of. a rail head, and portion 22 is rigidly clamped against and seats-ontheupper inclined portion of therail base. i

In reforming such bars it is necessary to removethe base plate 20 and the transition portion 21, leaving only the seating part 22 for engagingt'he upper faceof the rail base, the web, and the head. Thisis because, as

, above stated,'it is impracticable to reform continuous splice bars as such.

' In order to remove the eifects'of wear and weather and restore the Worn surfaces of the bar, the head 24 has to be reformed.

Re-ferring again to the machine itself, there is mounted in the, lower die block 3a negative die 30, having its upper face longitudias the die descends.

nally channeled to substantially conform to the outer longitudinal face of a continuous splice bar. one side of which extends upward to and terminates in a substantially flat face 32, the otherside extending in a curve forming a portion adapted to receive and lit the outer face of the bar. by me'ans 'of a key 1nember33, in the usual manner. It'will be understood that the die isusomewbat longer than the splice bar so that the later lies on" the die and in the groove 31,, .as illustratedin section inFig. ,2,

Aco'operating positive die 36 is fixedin the upper d'ie block 6 by means of a key bar 37. This upperdie has .a tapered nose; portion 38, one side of which has a curved shoulder 39 adapted to cooperate with the portion 32 of the lower die 30. The other side of the nose 38 has a tapered side portion substantially corresponding to the inclined face of seat portion '22 of thebar, I

WVhe'n thedie 36 is brought down to its lowermost position as shown in Fig. 3, the nose 38 just clears the upper inner corner of the portion 20 of the splice bar, enters the jawof the bar, and the-curved portionleading to shoulder 39 bends outward the base plate 20 ofthe splice bar B, opening up the -When thedie 36 reaches its final position the plate 20 is bent outward and downward between the shoulder 39 and the-lower die portion 32 and is substantially parallel with the-web portion as shown in Fig. 3. The barafter bending is shown Referring tov the left side of Fig. 2, a shear knife 40 is attached to. the upper die block 6 by means of bolts 41. This knife has its outer edge p.or.tions 42, 42, inclined slightly upward from the outer. ends to a middle straight portion 43 (Fig. 4), for a purpose to be described below.

After a bar'has been opened up in the dies 30 and 36, as shown at the right of Fig. 3, it

is taken out, turned on edge and reinserted under the shear knife 40, as shown at the left of Figure .3. I V I r In. order to hold the bar. in position for shearing, the die'block 3 carries a hook mem ber 45, the tip 46 of which is adapted to engage the outer face 26. of the bar head. The inclined face of the seat portion 22 of the bar rests on a supporting member 47 which is mounted in a recess 48 formed inthe die-block and is adj ustable-by meansv of securing bolts 49. The outer portion of the supporting member 47 is adapted to fit accurately into the groove formed between thev inner face of the rail-seat portion 22, and thedownwardly turned base plate 20 of the bar B The transitionportion 21 of the bar then rests upon the head 50 of a pivoted. supporting lever '51, pivoted at 52 inan extension 53 of This results in a deep groove 31,

The die 30 is fixed in the block at the left of Fig. 2, and is marked lit") the die block 3. A counterweight 54: is adjustably mounted on this lever so that it may be adjusted to properly support the portion 21 of the bar in the preliminary positioning thereof.

When the knife descends and shears the bar in a plane substantially parallel with the outer face of the supporting member 47, the head of the supporting bar 51 descends to allow the sheared portion to move downward and fall into the recess 55 in the die block 3. Due to the fact that the shear knife has its edges inclined downward from the middle straight portion thereof, the shearing action will commence at the outer cornersof the bar, and be completed at the middle. This somewhat reduces the power necessary for the shearing stroke and also makes a cleaner cut.

It will be observed that a stroke of the shear knife removes all of the base plate 20 and all of the transition portion 21 of the bar, but leaves substantially all of the seat portion 22, and all of the web and head of the bar. i Z

In the middle of the die blocks there is attached to the upper one 6, a die 60, by means of key 61 cooperating with dove-tailed portion 62. The die has a downwardly extending portion 63 with an inner inclined face adapted to contact with the inclined face of the seat portion 22 of that part of the bar from which the base plate has been sheared in the operation previously referred to. This die is cut away longitudinally in the middle portion to conform to the outline of the inner part of the splice bar that is to be made from the old one. This comprises a groove which conforms to the inner portion of the splice bar between the web 23 and the seat 22, and a second groove 66, which is shaped to conform to the desired inner portion of the head of the reformed bar. This comprises a face 67 adapted to engage the rail-engaging face 25 of the bar, and to positively limit and position the new rail-engaging face 25a of the finished reformed bar B Any excess of metal in the blank 2 supplied to this middle set of dies is taken care of by extension of the portion 22, and widening of the face portion 25a. As will be observed from Fig. 3, there is ample space between the two dies for that purpose.

A die 70 is attached to the lower die block 3, and cooperates with the die 60. The upper portion of the die 70 is shaped to provide a groove 72 for receiving the outer rib of the splice bar head. The right side of the oie as seen in Fig. 2 forms a tapered portion 73, which cooperates with the inclined face 64 of the projection 63 of the die 60 to define the tapered rail seat portion 22 of the finisher. reformed bar B The operation of the machine will be apparent from the foregoing description and the drawings, but may for convenience be.

summarized as follows: I

A worn continuous bar B after having been properly heated in a suitable furnace is positioned lengthwise on" the die30, as shown at the right of Fig. 2. Theplunger member 5 carrying the upper die block then descends,

bringing the die 36 from the position in Fig.

2 to the position shown in Fig. 3. The die 36 engages'the upper inner corner of the base plate 20 of the bar B, and as the die 36 moves downward in the jaw of the bar to its final position the base plate is bent outward and then turned downward to substantially horizontal position as shown'at the right of Fig. 3. The bar after this first'opening up operation may for convenience be referred to as B The plunger is then raised, the bar B is removed manually by workmen, turned from horizontal to vertical position, and inserted on the supporting members 47 and 50 with the head retained by thehook 46, as shown at the left of Fig. 2. At the same time, another heated worn bar B is inserted in the groove 31 of die 30. f The plunger again descends, the new'bar B is formed into another bar B as in the first operation. During the same stroke of the plunger the shear knife 40 passes downward, the outer corners thereof shearing the ends of the bar B first, and then the inner straight portion 33 of the knife shearing the middle portion of the bar in a line substantially parallel to the vertical support 47. This entirely removes the base 20 and the transition portion 21 of the bar Bfl-leaving the head, web, and seat portion '22 of the bar, which in that forii may for convenience be referred to as 2 I The plunger is'again raised, the sheared i bar B is moved from support 47 and hook 4:6 to the die 70, and positioned thereon as shown at the middle of Fig. 2. During the same time another bar B is moved from the die 30 to the support 47, and another unopened bar B is inserted in the die 30.

The plunger is again actuated, the dies 30 andf36 performing the preliminary openingup operation to convert bar B into bar B the shear knife cutting ofi the base plate-and transition portion of bar B to form a second bar. B and the middle dies 60 and 7 0 pressing a sheared bar B to reform the head and base thereof to form the finished product B shown at the middle portion of Fig. 3.

The dies 60 and 70 are so formed that they press the hot blank B to exact dimensions as to the inclined face of the portion 22, and as to the rail-head engaging face 2511.

In doing this the metal is caused to flow somewhat, and particularly the worn head and base portions are forged to a slightly different shape, with the faces 25a and of portion 22' accuratelyformed to have the desired-bearing surfaces for the rail to which 40 falls into the space below the bar is to be applied. This working of the metal improves its physical characteristics and the resulting productis'in some respects superior tothe original bar.

It will be observed that in the downward stroke of the plunger the die 36-will contact With the base plateHQO of the bar B, and

V will commence the first bending or opening all are completed at a single plunger stroke of'the machine, thereby relieving the machine of. excessive shock or strain in performing the three operations mentioned.

7 The machine is adapted at :each stroke to operate on three separate bars, and tocom- .plete a definite operation on each. The sum of the three'operations is the completereformlng of a continuous into a non-continuous unworn splice bar. Before each stroke of the machine an old bar B is inserted and after each stroke a completely finished bar B is removed. Also after each stroke eachzbar is moved forward one step in the process.

The portion of the bar B that is sheared off by the downwardmovement of the knife the support 51, and is pushed out of theway after each operation by the inserting. movement of the next bar B See, Fig. 3, left end. These sheared off portions have no part in the further operation of the machine, and represent merely scrap so far as the reforming of splice bars is concerned. I The shear knife and the various dies may be removed for grinding or refinishing, or for substitution of dies having different contours adapted to form bars of different fishing heights, different sizes, or the like. The machine operateswith a minimumof power, due to the progressive encountering of resistance by the several dies. A highly efficient machine and method results, since at each st oke of the plunger three different operations are performed, and a reformed bar, requiring three separate operations, is finished.

I claim:

1. In a machine for reforming splice bars of the continuous type, the combination of base plate thereofinto substantially parallel position relative to the Web portion thereof, the shear knife located at the other end of the die blocks being adapted thereafter at the reciprocably' mounted above the fixed die block, two dies and a shear knife mounted upon the movable block, two dies vertically aligned respectively with the first-mentioned dies and a stock support on the fixed die.

block adapted to cooperate with the dies and knife on the movable blocks, one pair'of the dies being adaptedto open a worn continuous'bar and the other pair being adapted to reform a non-continuous bar after a portion has been sheared off, the pair of d1es for opening a continuous bar being advanced with respect to the reforming dies so as to open the continuous bar before the reforming dies close on a sheared bar, the knife being located to shear an opened continuous bar before the reforming dies close on a sheared bar, the two pairs of cooperating dies and the shear knife being adapted to perform three separate complete operations on three different bars positioned on the fixed block at each stroke of the movable block.

3. In a machine for reforming Worn splice bars of the continuous'type to unworn bars of non-continuous type, the combination of a fixed lower die block, a movable die block reciprocably mounted above the fixed die block, two dies and ashearv knife mounted upon the movable block, two dies and a stock support on the fixed die block adapted to cooperate respectively with the dies and 1' block, the knife being knife on the movable advanced with respect to the pressing" dies,

the two-pairs of cooperating dies and the shear knife being adapted to perform three separate complete operations on three dif-- ferent bars positioned on the fixed block at each stroke of the movable block.

In testimony whereof, I sign my name.

EMANUEL IVOODINGS.

a fixed die block, a movable die block rev ciprocably mounted above the fixed die block,

two diesand a shear knife mounted upon the movable block, cooperating dies on the fixed block, one pair of said dies located at one end of the die blocks being adapted first to open up the continuous bar by bending the 

